Not My First Choice
by Deliwiel
Summary: Writing Prompt from Tamuril2. MacGyver and Jack's first meeting, but the slight twist is that Mac is being forced to work for the bad side, and Jack meets him when Jack is captured. I feel like that's a poor explanation, the full prompt is inside! Rated T for slight Mac & Jack whump, but also paranoia on my part. Epilogue requested, chapter 2 is the epilogue!
1. Chapter 1

_**Hey hey hey! So...I definitely wasn't thinking I would have this story up so soon, but I didn't have any homework, and I have no social life, plus the sick day I took yesterday provided me with an entire day of writing, so I was able to write this and edit it faster than I thought...Also I love all of you so I decided I'd put it up tonight instead of waiting till tomorrow or Thursday! :D**_

 _ **Anyway! This is a prompt from Tamuril2 that she gave me a while ago. (I'm so sorry Tam, I'm a terrible human being for taking so long with all of your prompts *covers face with hands*) She wanted a story of Mac & Jack's first meet, but the slight twist is that MacGyver has been forced to work for the enemy, and Jack promises to get the two of them out of imprisonment. FULL PROMPT IS AT THE BOTTOM :)**_

 _ **This may be slightly AU, I don't think Jack actually knew Pena, but for this story he does... But I think that would be the only thing that's AU, at least to my knowledge.**_

 _ **Any mistakes are mine, I'm not sure if I caught everything? Let me know if you find something and I'll change it :)**_

 _ **Unfortunately, I doubt I will ever own these wonderful characters. :(**_

Jack struggled futilely against the men pulling him down the hallway. They stopped outside a door with an insane amount of locks on it, and Aarash, the man in charge barked an order. A small man hurried over with a keyring and proceeded to insert various keys into different locks before finally unlocking the last lock. Aarash pulled out his gun and aimed it ahead of him before he pushed the door open.

"Stay where you are," he ordered harshly. Jack wondered who the heck the man was talking to, but he soon found out when he was pushed into the small room, furnished with nothing but a chair, a clock, and a sink. The only other occupant was a young man with blond hair.

" _Kid can't be older than twenty,"_ Jack thought incredulously to himself. The young man was wearing khaki camo pants and had on a white, or what used to be white t-shirt. The shirt was now stained with dirt and what appeared to be blood. Jack let his eyes wander up to the kid's face.

There was a cut on one of his cheeks that looked like it was pretty fresh. His face was a mosaic of bruises, some of them more recent, while others were turning the yellowy-brown color they get when they're a little older. There was only a few specks of blood under the kids nostrils, but it was enough to alert Jack to the fact that the kid had taken a hard punch to the nose. Jack now knew where most of the blood on the shirt had come from. When the young man turned, Jack noticed that he was favoring his left side a little, keeping his arm tucked close to his chest. " _That's either a hurt arm or injured ribs,"_ Jack mused silently.

Jack was shoved from behind and he stumbled further into the room, closer to the kid.

"Is it ready?" Aarash asked harshly. Jack looked confused until he saw the blond shake his head.

"I need more time," the kid insisted. Aarash's eyes narrowed, and he glanced at his watch.

"You have thirty minutes," Aarash informed him before he and his men stormed out the door. Jack heard all the different locks being re-locked, but he felt like he needed to try the handle anyway. Unsurprisingly, the door didn't budge. Jack looked at the kid and watched him walk over to the corner, where there was a large table with a device that Jack hadn't noticed before.

"Who're you?" the blond asked, glancing at Jack as he fiddled with the device on the table.

"Name's Jack Dalton. You?"

"MacGyver," came the reply.

"MacGyver huh? What the heck are you doing here?" he asked, walking over to look at what the kid was working on. "Wait," he said as he recognized the item the kid was fiddling with. "What are you doing?!" he asked incredulously as the kid tweaked and twisted things on the bomb.

"They're making me," the kid said.

"Making you?!" Jack almost shouted.

"Ssshhh," MacGyver hissed, sounding annoyed. Jack's mouth fell open.

"You're shooshing me?" Jack asked in disbelief.

"You don't understand," MacGyver shot at the newcomer.

"Then help me understand why in tarnation you're building a bomb for the enemy soldiers!"

MacGyver set one of the tools he was working with on the table with a loud _SMACK_ and he turned to face Jack. "I'm with the EOD," he explained. "Yesterday me and a few of the other guys from my team were out on a mission and we all got grabbed. There were four of us on the mission; I don't know where they took the others," MacGyver said. "The terrorists said if I didn't help them repair this bomb that _my team_ helped disarm, they'd kill the other three," he explained.

"Look kid, I get being loyal to your team, I do. But I'm just wondering if there's a different way to get them out of here besides helping the enemy build a bomb?" Jack said, trying to look the kid in the eyes. "Look, I can help get you outta here, you and your teammates," Jack promised, not giving MacGyver a chance to reply. "Just don't rebuild this bomb!"

MacGyver stared at the older American for a few moments before shrugging his shoulders slightly.

"You mean it?" he asked, sounding dubious. Jack stuck out his hand.

"I promise," he said with fervor, shaking MacGyver's hand. MacGyver still looked skeptical. "Look," Jack said. "I wasn't captured on accident. My team placed a tracker in my boot," he explained. "We needed to know where the base was. My backup should be here within the hour," he promised. MacGyver stared down at the older man's boot, an impressed look coming over his face. He gave a quick smile to Jack, then turned and faced the bomb again.

"I mean, I wasn't going to make the thing operational, but if you're willing to help us get out of here…" he trailed off, giving a small smirk at the man. Jack rolled his eyes, a weightless feeling coming over him at the kid's confession. He let out a breathy, relieved laugh before he responded.

"All you had to do was ask," he muttered.

"Yeah well, I've been burned by others and their promises in the past," MacGyver said as he turned his attention back to the device in front of him. "People aren't known to keep their promises if they don't think it can benefit them."

Jack was surprised that the kid didn't sound more bitter about having others break their promises. "So you don't trust me?"

"Jack, we just met five minutes ago," MacGyver pointed out. "And for four of those minutes, you thought I was building a bomb to help the other side. Did you trust me?"

"Well, no," Jack admitted. The man felt a little guilty for judging the kid so harshly; he tried to put himself in MacGyver's shoes. What would he have done if it were his team that were threatened? He had obviously seen that the kid had taken a beating, or several, so he should have figured MacGyver wasn't doing this work out of the goodness of his heart. "Should we start over?" he asked. MacGyver looked at him and raised an eyebrow, twirling one of the tools in his hand.

"Hi, I'm Jack Dalton," Jack said, sticking out his hand again.

"MacGyver," replied the blond, gripping the hand for a moment before letting it go.

"Just MacGyver?" Jack asked.

"Just MacGyver," the kid confirmed.

"Is that a first or a last name?"

"Last."

"Do I get to know your first name?"

"Maybe when we get out of here," MacGyver said. Jack didn't say anything else about names.

"Sorry I thought you were a traitor," he apologized.

"Sorry for thinking you were just another meathead soldier," MacGyver replied.

"Wait, what?"

"What?" Mac asked innocently. "Do you want to see what I was working on?" he asked, moving on from the topic quickly. Jack hesitated and eyed the bomb. "It's not gonna go off," MacGyver assured the man. Jack finally stepped forward and looked to where MacGyver was pointing.

"I see a bunch of wires," Jack said, shrugging and looking to the kid for an explanation. "Usually don't people cut wires to get the bomb to _stop_ from going boom?"

"Yes," MacGyver said patiently. "But they need to be connected to certain ports _before_ they can go boom. It's like plugging something into an outlet that doesn't have any power," he tried explaining.

Jack kind of understood the kid's analogy. "But won't they realize what you've done?" he asked. MacGyver smiled.

"They would, probably," he agreed. "But that's why I'm doing this," he added with a smirk. He leaned behind the bomb and grabbed something. When he brought his hand back to the front, Jack was surprised to see a razor blade in the kid's hands.

"Where'd you get that?!" Jack asked. "And what are you going to do with it? They're definitely going to notice if the wires are cut," he pointed out.

"Don't worry, I'm not cutting the wires," MacGyver assured the older man. "And I nicked it out of the cell they had me in before they threw me in this room. It was shoved in between a few loose bricks."

"And you didn't use it to get away?"

MacGyver looked at Jack. "I'm not usually one prone to violence if there's another way out," he stated. "There was another way out, so I decided to try that route first. Do you want me to explain what I'm doing or not?"

"Go ahead," Jack said, shaking his head in disbelief at the young man before him. He watched as MacGyver used the razor blade to carefully cut the rubber covering the wires, moving them around so they were covering different sets of wires than they had been.

"And now," MacGyver said as he put the wires into different ports. "They look like they're in the position they're supposed to be in," he finished explaining. Jack's eyebrows raised in surprise and admiration.

"Kid, if this works," Jack said, pointing at the bomb, which was now useless. "Not only will I make sure you and your team gets outta here in one piece, I'll cover the tab at the bar that we're definitely going to be hitting after we get out," he promised. MacGyver chuckled.

"Wow, so generous!" he teased. "And didn't you already promise to get us out?" MacGyver asked, raising an eyebrow at the man.

"Yes, but now I've seen what you were thinking, and I want to get you guys outta here even more," Jack said. MacGyver stared at the man for a moment before turning back to the now-non-working bomb.

"I think it's ready," MacGyver muttered, mostly to himself.

"So now what do we do?" Jack asked.

"Wait, I guess," MacGyver said.

"Just wait? We're just gonna sit here and twiddle our thumbs?"

"What? No," MacGyver said, giving Jack an odd look. "Twenty minutes is plenty of time," he said.

"Plenty of time to what?"

MacGyver smiled. "Plan."

 _0-0-0_

"Gotta admit kid," Jack said as he accepted the pipe from under the sink. "Your instinct is a force to be reckoned with."

"You know," MacGyver replied as he stood up, wiping dirt off his pants. "Instinct is just a fancy way of saying you've done something a thousand times," he pointed out.

"So you're saying you've done this a thousand times?" Jack asked dubiously.

"This in particular? Switching the wires on a bomb to make sure it didn't go off?" MacGyver asked as he slipped the razor blade in his pocket. "No, I'll admit that this is a first for me. But improvising," he said. "Improv I _have_ done a thousand times. Probably more," he added after a moment's thought. He looked at the Delta soldier as the two of them heard voices coming down the hallway. "You ready?" he asked.

"No," Jack answered honestly. "But it needs to happen, so let's just get it over with."

He stuck the pipe in the back of his pants and let his shirt cover it right as they heard keys being inserted into the multiple locks. Finally the door was opened and a single guard walked in, alternating his gun between the two of the prisoners.

"What, only one guard?" Jack asked. "Should I feel insulted that they don't even think we're enough of a threat to warrant a guard each?"

"Jack," MacGyver cautioned.

"Come on," the guard ordered. "Hands behind your back!" he ordered Jack. As Jack complied, the man looked at MacGyver. "Do anything, and there are four guards at the end of that hallway. One of you will die," he warned. MacGyver nodded slowly in understanding, and the guard quickly zip tied Jack's hands together behind his back. The guard motioned at MacGyver with his gun.

"Pick up the bomb," he demanded. MacGyver slowly raised his hands, showing he wasn't hiding anything.

"Where are my teammates?" he asked as he moved to the table and picked up the device

"Shut up," barked the guard.

"The man just wants to know where his team is," Jack repeated in annoyance. The guard whipped the butt of his gun across Jack's cheek, creating a cut at the corner of his mouth.

"If you know what's good for you," he hissed. "Keep your mouth shut." The guard turned and stared at MacGyver, who was now holding the bomb. "Out," he ordered, motioning for the blond to move through the door. As MacGyver walked out, the guard shoved Jack from behind and followed the two Americans down the hallway. "Take the next left," the guard called out. MacGyver didn't respond, but he did take the next left that he could, leading them out into a large courtyard. The yard had gates built entirely of brick and stone surrounding the perimeter, at least eight feet tall.

"Set the device on the ground," the guard instructed, keeping his gun pointed at the back of Jack's head. MacGyver did as he was told, and the guard lowered his gun, hurrying over to the blond. "Hands," he ordered.

MacGyver held out his hands and winced as the zip ties were pulled tight over his wrists. He held them up in front of him. "Not behind my back?" he asked. The guard sneered.

"Aarash wants you to be the one to show him how to use it," he explained. MacGyver's face tightened slightly in anger.

"That wasn't the deal," MacGyver argued. "I won't do it until I see my team is okay," he insisted. The guard sneered at MacGyver, but pulled out his radio, saying something that neither MacGyver or Jack could understand. A reply crackled over the small device, and the guard looked at MacGyver.

"They're bringing your team out now," he stated. "But Aarash says if you don't show us how to work the bomb, he will kill all of them without hesitation."

MacGyver's eyes narrowed but he didn't say anything.

"So what's the plan with me?" Jack asked. The guard turned to him.

"For now, you're staying here. Aarash will be by to ask you questions once he knows how to work the bomb. You're going to tell us where the best tactical advantage to place the bomb would be," he informed Jack.

Dalton's eyebrows raised. "I am, am I? Cuz I don't think I'm in a very chatty mood, especially if you want me to tell you where to put a bomb that will harm dozens of innocents," he explained.

"I think you'll find that Aarash can be very per-" the guard stopped talking as a gust of wind blew threw the yard, lifting Jack's shirt slightly and revealing the metal pipe. "What is that?" their guard yelled, storming over to Jack.

"What is what?" Jack asked innocently. The guard didn't even pause as he plunged his fist into Jack's stomach, making the soldier double over and giving the guard the opportunity to grab the pipe. "Oh that," Jack panted as he straightened back up. "Kid there said he needed me to hang onto it," Jack explained, pointing to MacGyver. The guard turned his rage onto MacGyver and walked over to him, waving the pipe around.

"What is this?" the guard repeated. MacGyver looked from the pipe to the guard. He shrugged.

"Just something I thought could help," he explained.

"How could it possibly help?"

MacGyver held out his bound hands. "I can show you," he offered. The guard eyed him warily, but he finally handed the pipe over.

"What is it?" the guard asked once more as he watched MacGyver inspect it.

"Lateral...cranial...impact...enhancer," MacGyver said slowly as he turned it over in his hands. The guard looked confused, but it was soon replaced with a dazed look at MacGyver smashed the pipe over the man's skull. The guard dropped like a rock. "Moron," MacGyver muttered as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the razor blade, hurrying over to Jack. He quickly cut through the plastic ties on the man's wrists, and Jack took the blade, cutting through MacGyver's restraints as well.

They suddenly heard a bunch of shouting coming from just outside the wall, and rapid gunfire. Jack turned to MacGyver with a grin on his face.

"The Cavalry's arrived," he announced. He winced as the grin pulled at the cut by his mouth, but it didn't stop him from smiling. MacGyver and Jack ran for the door that they had originally come through, but they were stopped when three Americans with their hands tied behind their backs were pushed through by more guards.

"Hey!" one of the guards shouted as he took in the scene before him: Two unbound Americans, his fellow guard on the ground, and a bomb sitting just a few feet away. MacGyver and Jack sprung into action. Jack flung himself at the guards while MacGyver ran for his team, quickly slicing through their restraints with the razor blade that Jack had given back.

"I could use a bit of help!" Jack yelped as one of the guards managed to ram his body against Jack, smashing the older American into the wall.

Everyone heard a crash as a door was busted down somewhere close by, and within seconds, there were American soldiers crawling all over the compound, grabbing and restraining all the enemy soldiers they could find. A few of them came into the yard where their fellow Americans were. One of the men spotted Jack, who was pushing himself off the wall, recovering from the earlier battering ram impersonation.

"Dalton!" he yelled. Jack looked over and acknowledged the man.

"We gotta get these four out of here! " he yelled over the sound of gunfire, motioning to MacGyver and his team. The man looked at the four newcomers and nodded.

"It might be tight, but it's doable!" he yelled. "Come on, let's get out to the van!" he ordered, shepherding MacGyver's three teammates out of the building.

"MacGyver, come on!" Jack called out as he waved the other members of MacGyver's EOD team through the door to where a large vehicle was waiting.

"Hold on!" MacGyver yelled, turning around and running back towards the bomb. The older soldier watched, wondering if he should go after the kid or just wait. He shook his head, disappointed in himself for even having to ask himself that question and took off after MacGyver.

The kid had almost reached the device when Aarash appeared out of nowhere, throwing himself into the kid's side and sending both of them tumbling to the ground. Jack was still a decent distance away, and he watched helplessly as Aarash rammed his fist into the kid's face, stomach, ribs, basically anywhere he could hit. Jack could see MacGyver trying to raise his arms to protect himself, but it was having minimal effect.

Jack finally reached them and he crashed into Aarash without breaking stride, knocking the leader off the skinny kid. The two older men tumbled to the ground, hitting and kicking each other as each tried to gain the upper hand. Jack felt several kicks to his ribs, making him wince in pain, but the adrenaline flowing through him was preventing any pain for the moment.

Jack was larger than Aarash, so eventually he forced his way to the top of the small dog pile and continued hitting and kicking the man. Finally, a final punch to the man's temple made Aarash go slack on the ground, unconscious. Some of Jack's team ran over to them as Jack got up. He made sure the terrorist was in good hands, then he walked back over to the young man whom he had run after.

MacGyver looked up at Jack as he held out his hand to help the kid to his feet.

"You didn't leave," he stated, almost in confusion.

"I promised I'd get ya out, didn't I?" Jack reminded the younger man. MacGyver stared at Jack as he was hauled upright.

"Yeah," he said, still surprised the man had come back for him. "I guess you did."

Jack could see the kid was shocked, so he clapped a hand on his shoulder as they walked over and grabbed the bomb. "I keep my promises, kid," he assured him. They walked towards the exit, and Jack looked down at the bomb MacGyver was carrying.

"So why did you decide to come back for this thing?" Jack asked, gesturing at the bomb. MacGyver gave the older man a strange look.

"You didn't think that just because I fixed it so it wouldn't explode that I was going to let them keep it and figure out how to reverse it, did you?" he asked, eyebrows raising a little. Jack looked thoughtful as he considered what MacGyver said, and the two of them got into the waiting vehicle, which then drove away from the compound.

 _0-0-0_

The vehicle doors opened and everyone spilled out. Someone had radioed MacGyver's CO to let him know that he and his team were safe, and that they were coming in with an out-of-commission bomb. As Jack stepped out after MacGyver, he saw a man coming towards them who he assumed was the CO. MacGyver handed the bomb off to another member of the EOD, and they promptly left to dispose of the explosive. MacGyver turned back to face the man who was walking towards them.

"Glad to see you boys alive," the man said as he reached MacGyver and Jack.

"Thank you sir, we're glad to still _be_ alive," MacGyver responded, shaking the hand that was offered. "Jack, this is Alfred Pena, my CO. This is Jack Dalton," MacGyver introduced. Pena shook Jack's hand. "Jack's the main reason we got out of there alive," MacGyver added. Pena looked at Jack with respect.

"You took care of my men," he said. It wasn't an outright expression of gratitude, but Jack understood the man was trying to say 'thank you.'

"It was teamwork, sir," Jack insisted. "MacGyver here did some crazy stuff that definitely helped us get out."

"That sounds like MacGyver," Pena said, glancing at the young blond with a hint of a smile. "Best mind I've seen," he added. He nodded once more at the men before he walked away to talk with the rest of his rescued team. MacGyver turned to Jack.

"Thanks," he said.

"For what? I meant it when I said it was a team effort," Jack said. MacGyver shook his head.

"No, I meant when you came back for me," MacGyver clarified. Jack stared at the young man, curious as to what made him think that Jack would have left him behind. He wanted to ask, but he figured that was another conversation for another day.

"'Course, MacGyver," Jack said, a warm smile flitting across his face.

"Mac," the blond said, looking at Jack.

"Hmm?"

"My friends call me Mac," MacGyver explained. Jack grinned again.

"Sounds like a plan, Mac," he said. "When do I get to know your first name?" he asked, waggling his eyebrows at the kid. Mac chuckled.

"Maybe someday," he said, purposefully sounding mysterious and annoying. Jack rolled his eyes at his new friend, but decided to let it drop-for now.

"I'll get it out of you sometime," he warned lightly. "When you're least expecting it!"

"I look forward to seeing you try," MacGyver joked back, though he knew it wouldn' really be all that hard for Jack to find out his first name.

"Hey," Jack said after a minute. "The other part of my promise was that I buy drinks. You up for it?"

Mac looked at Jack for a moment, then nodded. "Sure," he agreed. As the two of them walked off towards the bar just a few minutes down the road, they continued talking. Jack glanced at the young man, and for some reason he had the strong feeling that this bond was going to go deeper than most of his other army friendships. And he was totally fine with that.

 _ **So? Whatcha think? Tam, did it live up to expectations? Friends still? :D ;)**_

 _ **Did you guys think it was okay? I know it's so cheesy, but all of mine are... ;) And like I said, I dunno if Jack actually knew Pena, but for the sake of this story, I figured going slightly AU wouldn't hurt terribly.**_

 _ **Also! First chapter of my classic ep retelling should be up in a few days! I like to get decently close to being done with any stories I have before I actually begin posting so that I don't have to wait so long before posting chapters. :)**_

 _ **Lemme know what you guys think!**_

 _ **Full Prompt:**_

 _ **Mac is actually working for the bad guy side, but not willingly. He's been captured and beaten into submission. Jack meets him when he (Jack) gets captured. They form a bond/friendship, with Jack promising to get Mac out if he (Mac) helps him escape. Mac's not sure, at first, but then goes along with it. He (Mac) doesn't really trust that Jack will keep his word, but figures he's got nothing left to lose. The whole "why not take a chance?"**_


	2. Chapter 2

**_So Tamuril2 requested an epilogue for this story. The full prompt is at the bottom._**

 ** _Not sure how well people stayed IC, so I'm so sorry. I've been having writer's whiplash, where I love my writing one minute, then hate it the next, so I'm just trying to write like I always do, but I'm not sure if it comes out ok..._**

 ** _Also! For those of you who are following Faith, Hope, and Charity, I posted a new chapter yesterday morning like I said I would, but for some reason, it didn't show as updated in the list. If you click on the link, it'll show you there's a new chapter, but it didn't go to the top of the list when it was updated. I'm not sure why..._**

 ** _Anyway! Lemme know what you think!_**

 _Epilogue_

 _A Few Weeks Later_

Jack cleared the last of the civilians out of the danger zone, getting them on a truck and slapping the side of the vehicle to let the driver know he could take off.

As he stepped out of the way of the moving truck, Jack glanced off towards the area where the explosive device had been found, watching the swarm of men in large protective suits converge on the device. Once they had secured the device, some of the men broke off, and Jack saw one of them begin walking towards him. A grin flitted across his face as the soldier pulled off his mask, revealing MacGyver underneath.

"And that's how you _actually_ dispose of a bomb," MacGyver said with a grin as he put his helmet on the ground when he reached the Delta soldier.

"I dunno man, I thought that the way you did it last time was pretty cool," Jack said. The two of them grasped hands and pulled each other into a quick one-armed hug, clapping each other on the back before pulling apart.

"Well, let's hope I don't have to do anything like that again," MacGyver said with a laugh.

"Yeah, well we wouldn't need to be diffusing as many bombs if MacGyver here didn't go around showing the enemy how to build them," one of Mac's teammates sneered. MacGyver's cheeks reddened a little bit, but before he could say anything, the man turned and walked away, leaving MacGyver and Jack alone. Jack's mouth hung open in shock.

"Guy doesn't know what he's talking about," Jack tried assuring his friend.

"He just got here last week. He doesn't know the full story of what happened. All he heard was that when I was captured I rebuilt a bomb," Mac explained.

"So why don't you tell him the truth?" Jack asked. Mac simply shrugged.

"He refuses to talk to me, and honestly I've just decided I'm not to let it bug me," Mac said unconvincingly. "Besides, it'll all probably blow over soon. I'll be fine."

"Uh huh," Jack said, giving the young man a skeptical look.

"Look, it's fine," Mac repeated. "I'm used to it," he added. "Anyway," MacGyver said, trying to distract Jack from the comment made by Mac's teammate. "Wanna run grab a drink?"

"Uh yeah," Jack said, looking around them while he replied, subtly trying to see where the newcomer had gone. "Gimme like ten minutes?"

"Jack, what are you going to do?" MacGyver asked suspiciously. Jack looked at his friend innocently.

"What?" he asked.

"I wasn't born yesterday, Jack," MacGyver said, giving him a deadpanned stare. "Don't talk to Jackson," he implored.

"Jackson? That's his name?" Jack asked, jerking his thumb towards the new guy.

"Jack," Mac warned. "Don't do anything you're going to regret later," he pleaded.

"Okay, okay," Jack agreed, holding his hands up. "Whatever you say, bud."

"Thank you," MacGyver said gratefully. With that, the two of them turned and walked away, ready to forget about life for a short time and catch up with each other.

 _0-0-0_

Jack had just said adios to MacGyver, and was walking towards a truck that would take him back to his crew when he heard someone call out to him.

"Hey!"

Jack turned around to see who the person hailing him was, and his blood boiled a bit when he saw it was Mac's new teammate, Jackson.

"Hey," he greeted, somewhat cooly. Jackson walked over to the Delta soldier before he began speaking again.

"You're the guy that was with MacGyver, right?" he asked in a scathing tone as he recognized Jack from before. "I'm just gonna give you a warning right now to stay away from him," he cautioned.

"Is that so?" Jack asked, eyes narrowing.

"Yeah," Jackson replied, not noticing the reaction of the other soldier. "You heard what he did, right? Rebuilt a bomb for the enemy, but got it back before they were able to use it. Gotta say, I've always said that I don't think they should let people under the age of twenty-three join the army," Jackson informed Jack. "They're just not mature enough to handle the stress this job can place on you."

The Delta Force agent's eyes narrowed slightly. "What's your problem?" Jack asked angrily.

"Sorry?" Jackson asked, sounding confused and bemused.

"I'm sorry, you must be deaf. Maybe that's why you're so rude, because you could never hear anybody teaching you how to be polite," Jack seethed.

"How dare-" Jackson began, but Jack cut him off.

"How dare I? How dare YOU," he said, pushing his finger into the new arrival's chest. "You come in here, hear one tiny bit of a larger story and immediately pass judgement on a kid who was just trying to do his best in the impossible situation he was thrown in," Jack raged.

Jackson's face had taken on a color closely resembling that of a purple onion, but every time he opened his mouth to respond, Jack steamrolled over him. "I would like to see you captured with your team, beaten into submission, then be told that your team would be killed in front of you if you didn't do what you were told to do. Did you know that MacGyver didn't actually make the bomb operational?"

Jackson's face turned to one of slight confusion, and Jack took that as a 'no.' "Yeah, if you'd have bothered to take a little bit of time to learn the whole story, you'd have heard how ingenious that kid was by switching the coverings on the wires to make them look like they were inserted into the correct slots, or whatever it is you call it," he said, his voice getting dangerously close to shouting level.

"What is going on?" a new voice asked loudly. Jack and Jackson both turned to see Pena coming towards them.

"Nothing," Jack muttered darkly, turning and walking away from the new EOD soldier before the urge to punch him in the face became too overwhelming.

"Hey," he heard a voice come from behind him. Jack turned to see Pena catching up to him. "It's Dalton, right?"

"Yessir," Jack confirmed.

"You wanna tell me what was going down between you and Jackson over there?" he asked, fixing Jack with a stare that wouldn't allow the Delta man to move.

"Just clarifying something with him, that's all," Jack said. He tried to move past him, but Pena put a hand on his shoulder.

"Nuh-uh, that doesn't cut it, soldier," he stated. Jack huffed.

"MacGyver's a bright kid," Jack said. Pena nodded, a subtle look of pride coming across his face.

"I know. Best mind I think I've ever seen, but not only that, he's got the biggest heart too."

"So it should come as no surprise to you that the kid feels terrible about what happened a few weeks ago when he was captured, right?"

Pena's eyebrow quirked a little at the soldier's tone of voice, which Jack immediately toned down.

"Sorry," Jack apologized, calming down a little. "It's just hard for me to see people from MacGyver's own team, who should be like family, treat him like he's a traitor," he explained in a much calmer voice. Pena's face darkened a little at Jack's statement.

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that your new guy, Jackson? He heard about Mac's imprisonment, but he only listened, or maybe someone only told him the part about Mac rebuilding the bomb. Not that he didn't make it operational, or that Mac's team was at stake, no. He only knew about the fact that the kid _did_ rebuild the bomb, and he's been giving him crap about it ever since," Dalton said. "Permission to speak freely, sir?" Jack asked finally, looking at MacGyver's CO.

"That's not what you've been doing?" Pena asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Sorry," Jack apologized again.

"Apology accepted, and permission granted," Pena said, inclining his head.

"I don't know if it's that Jackson just didn't listen to the full story, or if whoever he heard the story from didn't give him the whole story, or just what, but something's gotta change," Jack said. "MacGyver counts on these men, and they count on him. If these guys don't think they can trust Mac because he 'built a bomb for the enemies,' how on earth are they going to trust him when their lives are on the line out there in the field?" Jack asked bluntly. "Also, how can MacGyver operate at his best if he doesn't have the full support of his team behind him?"

Pena was silent for a moment, taking in everything Jack had said. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention," he finally said. "I was unaware the animosity had spread so far."

"You mean you'd heard about this before?" Jack asked incredulously.

"Son, there isn't much that goes on in my squad that I don't know about. I had heard whispers here and there, but only from one or two people, and only just within the past day or two. I was planning on talking with the men soon, but now I know that it needs to happen now."

"Just," Jack said, thinking of his friend and how mortified and upset he would be if he found out this was happening because of him. "Don't make it obvious that it's about what Mac did?" he requested. Pena shook his head.

"I wish I could, but that's been the hot topic since it happened, and while I will keep names out of this, and keep it as generalized as I can, I can't guarantee that people won't know exactly what I'm talking about," he informed Jack. The soldier sighed; he knew the CO was right, but he just hoped it didn't come back to bite the kid in the butt.

"Listen," Pena said, seeming to sense Jack's worry. "MacGyver's a good kid. He's smart, he's caring, and he's good at what he does. I think he's stronger than both of us give him credit for," he admitted. Jack inclined his head; he knew Pena was right, he just didn't want to see the kid get taken advantage of or made fun of just because of his big brain.

"Thanks," Jack said.

"Thank you for bringing this to my attention," Pena repeated, shaking Jack's hand. "Don't worry. I'll watch out for the kid," he promised.

"Just don't make it too obvious?" Jack asked. Pena raised his eyebrows again.

"Are you trying to tell me what to do?" he asked with a light, yet serious tone.

"Not so much telling you as I am asking for a friend," Jack replied.

"Deal," Pena said. The two finished their handshake, then Jack turned and walked away.

 _0-0-0_

 _A Few Days Later_

"You know, something really weird happened the other day," MacGyver said as he sat next to Jack, making the older man jump slightly.

"Golly kid, make a noise next time, will ya?" he complained as he set his drink down.

"I just did," Mac pointed out with a smirk. Jack rolled his eyes, but decided to see what Mac was talking about.

"Well, what happened?" Jack asked, taking a long drink.

"You remember my CO, Alfred Pena, right?"

"Sure. Kinda intimidating guy, but he seems like he genuinely cares about the wellbeing of his team," Jack observed, knowing where the kid was headed with this conversation.

"Yeah," Mac agreed. "And the other day, everyone got a tongue-lashing about support in the field," the blond explained. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

Jack shrugged. "You got me, man," he said. "What'd he have you do next?" he asked in a teasing tone. "Trust fall? Team-building exercises?"

"No," Mac said. "He had us defuse a bomb."

"Well that doesn't sound too hard," Jack pointed out.

"Blindfolded," Mac added. Jack's eyes widened slightly.

"Oh," he said. "So...team-building exercises!" he added in a bright tone. MacGyver chuckled and shook his head.

"You're saying you didn't know anything about this?"

"Nah man," Jack insisted. MacGyver stared at him with a gaze that clearly conveyed that he didn't believe his friend.

"I can make you talk," Mac threatened jokingly.

"Uh-huh, I'd like to see you try," Jack laughed, polishing off his drink and turning to face his friend.

"Didn't say I'd do it by sheer force," Mac pointed out. "I can think of plenty of ways to make you talk that include things like fishing wire, a piece of gum, and tin foil."

"Tin foil? Really?" Jack asked skeptically.

"I never joke about my tin foil," Mac stated with a serious expression.

"Sure. How about we test that theory of yours out after you have a few drinks?" Jack offered, waving at the bartender to bring them more drinks.

"Are you trying to distract me?"

Jack pretended to think for a moment. "Yes. Yes I am," he decided. MacGyver chuckled, but he accepted the drink that was offered to him.

"I don't know what you did, but thank you," he said quietly. "I've never had anyone stand up for me like that, except for my best friend Bozer," he explained. Jack clapped a hand on the kid's shoulder.

"That's what friends are for, kid," he said. "That's what friends are for."

 _ **Full Prompt:**_

 _ **I was thinking you could do a little extra epilogue for the story. Maybe Jack catching up with Mac. Maybe him seeing someone who makes fun of Mac? I dunno.**_

 _ **So Tam, I hope it lived up to expectations? Sorry it took a while to get out! Faith, Hope, and Charity ran away with me, and I'm still trying to catch up with it XD Friends still?**_

 _ **Also, helloyesimhere, your request is going to be the next thing that goes up after FHC is done! I've been working on it, I promise!**_

 _ **So what did you all think?**_


End file.
